In animation school they told me that the influence was snow white as it was the first disney flick released which featured larger eyes that they felt like mimicking and fell in love with. To each their own I guess.

Amen. I'm tired of people always saying Japans better than us, they are more creative and ect. I'm not Japanese and I'm an aspiring artist. I'm influenced by Western and Japanese art but when I tell my friends this they laugh and go " ew western why would you be inspired by that?"

What gets me is how the nerds always complain about things being "authentic anime", as though it were some PURE form of true Japanese animation as opposed to just animation in general. The funny thing is, most of the arguments they give have to do with who produced it, but the people doing the arguing usually don't even know who's behind the production. I mean, there's ton of "authentic anime" actually being produced by korean animation companies/studios, so is that no longer authentic anime? Then there's the joint efforts between USA and Japan studios to produce anime, so this whole "authentic anime" argument is foundationally stupid and totally nerd-based. I remember a journal you posted in the past (at least I think it was you) where a Japanese anime director was asked if they considered Boondocks authentic anime and he said YES.

I think it depends on what people view as "authentic anime". There are so many out there. Can you really call those people nerds who question what the conventional style of anime or "authentic" is when it has evolved over the years?

My question is, what "rules" define what authentic anime is? Usually this debate involves non-Japanese people. My Japanese girlfriend says it's a non-issue with J-peeps. As she puts it, only non-Japan "otaku" and fanatics argue over something so trivial.

You're right it is trivial but we both can agree that many manga artists and animators alike add their styles into the melting pot and after a while this makes people wonder what is authentic and what's not. I personally believe that people are afraid of anime losing/forgetting it's roots. That's why people make such a big deal out of it.

I see your point, but couldn't it be said that their fear is less about what's authentic and more about no longer seeing their favorite trends that once defined anime for a previous generation?

The look of anime was always born from those designers and their respective styles. It was never going to stay the same as long as new manga/anime artists and conceptual designers came along.

Those roots are simply style. And style will always evolve and change from individual to individual.

The best thing that can happen to anime is that it's constantly evolving and changing and growing. Sure, we'll miss the older styles as new artists come along, but that's what BluRay is for. So we can always go back and enjoy that older stuff.

Truth be told, I miss some of the "classic look" of some older anime, but I also welcome new ideas. I'm not bound to the past. We can only appreciate our favorite creators while they're here (shoutout to Hayao Miyazaki and Toriyama) and hope that new, innovate creators come along in the future. I'm a big fan of the works of Shinichiro Watanabe, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Takeshi Koike and just about any animator who is a proponent of Kanada-styled animation. I hope it's here forever, but I'll never say that someone who doesn't do that style isn't 'authentic'.

Of course, these are just my opinions and I don't have any sort of "authorship" on the subject.

Anyway, thanks for hearing me out and taking my opinions with an open mind.

I agree. There's a lot of artists who are clearly following the path of another artist if you look closely enough, but they will deny their direct influences for the fear of being labeled "unoriginal." I think admitting your direct influences serves as a form of inspiration to learning artists. Nothing is original anymore.

People say anime eyes are too big, but the shows that influenced my way of drawing eyes actually were anime, and I draw them at basically realistic proportions. Culture, style, it all changes and it is a product of the minds across an entire planet. People should have the wisdom to appreciate western and eastern animation. They are both incredible in their own ways, and sometimes, in very similar ways as well.

Another mind-blowing fact: Max Fleischer took the BETTY BOOP signature song routine from black singer "Baby Esther" Jones and her inspired look from Esther routine-thief Helen Kane. Helen Kane, who secretly STOLE the singing act which inspired Betty Boop's whole routine tried to sue the Fleischers for $250k for copyright infringement ( which she did not have she stole it from Esther Jones). Black folks inadvertenly played a role in the early origins of anime. We're always making shit that people steal, lol.